Gaara
Gaara 'is the Sunagakure's Fifth Kazekage and the jinchuriki of the One-Tailed Raccoon, Shukaku. He is also the commander-in-chief of the Allied Shinobi Forces. Information Box Biological Overview Physical Description Alignment and Character Traits Professional Status Powers, Abilities and Skills Voice Actors Appearance Gaara is a fairly tall individual (as tall as Naruto), has fair skin and short, spiky, red hair with a striking resemblance to his father. He also has pale blue-green eyes. Gaara has no distinct pupils or eyebrows. He has two very notable in his appearance traits: firstly, he has tanuki-like black eye rings, having them since his birth. Secondly, he carved the kajin "''love" on the left side of his forehead, having it since Yashamaru's betrayal. Gaara's forelocks are parted from the left side, making the kajin more visible. Gaara wore full-length dark trousers, with a pair of laces on each leg, respectivley a few inches below the waist and knees, a crimson long-sleeved coat with flaring hemlines and slits on the lower half of the front and back, a gray holster vest held in place by a single strap over his left shoulder and by two buckled belts which he uses to carry his Sand Gourd. He also wears another pair of casually worn belts around his waist, and wears the standard shinobi high-calf sandals. He even wears the standard Kazekage robes, and a simple black pants suit. Personality Gaara is a calm, cold and serious individual, though caring for his siblings, friends and village as the Kazekage. Though he can be ruthless against his opponents, Gaara can show mercy to those who aren't worth killing and only kill those who are dangerous and would threaten the peace of his village. Gaara's childhood was a parallel to Naruto Uzumaki's in many ways. Both were unbearably lonely and longed to be liked, loved and acknowledged as individuals as a result of being jinchuriki — they were human beings, not the demons they had been forced to contain - and were driven to separate states of depression and desperation. While Naruto consequently developed the misconception that pranks and mischief would bring him the attention he craved, Gaara came to the conclusion that he could preserve and confirm his own existence by killing any and all who challenged it, securing this extreme form of existentialism as his key trait. In the absence of outside recognition, Gaara could compensate by valuing only himself to the exclusion of every other person. Furthermore, while Naruto eventually had Iruka Umino and Team Kakashi to comfort him, Gaara never bothered to make emotional bonds, not even with his father or siblings, as they too despised and feared Shukaku. The person who grew the closest to acknowledging him was Yashamaru, but when Yashamaru was ordered to betray him, Gaara was transformed into a lonely sociopath. As such, Gaara couldn't understand fighting for anything but himself until his confrontation with Naruto during the Chunin Exams. After his defeat at Naruto's hands, Gaara was shocked to discover that Naruto understood very well the pain he had endured throughout his life. He was even more surprised to learn that Naruto had never lost his ambition to be recognized as an individual, and had ultimately found companions who truly cared for him. Witnessing the resolution Naruto possessed to protect his friends caused Gaara to finally question the path he had determined for himself as a young child. Realizing that he had given up too easily, Gaara decided to follow Naruto's chosen path instead in order to finally be seen as a human being, and not the tailed beast within him. Over the next few years, Gaara's resolve to find happiness caused him to rely on his own power rather than that of the demon. Gaara eventually formed a close friendship with Naruto, viewing the Kohoha ninja as his first true friend, and became very loyal to his decisions, and protective over him as a companion. Gaara also came to view meeting Naruto as the greatest event of his life and believed any price, even the painful life of a jinchuriki was worth the experience. Gaara even forgave Shukaku for his miserable childhood, claiming that it was only because of such a life that he was able to meet Naruto. Since becoming one of Naruto's companions, Gaara has somehow taken on his ability to alter people's personalities. During the Kage Summit, he shocked the older, more experienced Kage by asking them when they had forsaken themselves, later causing Ohnoki to become much more determined to protect the Shinobi World. Before the Shinobi Alliance marched off to battle, he motivated them to set aside their differences, forget their past rivalries and unite under a single banner. He even managed to make Naruto think about the choices he had made in regards to Sasuke, stating that he only cared about revenge. His bond with Naruto has also made him capable of tossing aside any grudge, including his previous hatred of his father, who was partly responsible for Gaara's miserable childhood. He admits to having forgiven his father's actions, but openly weeps after learning that his mother truly did love him, and that she had vowed to protect him forever by infusing her will into his sand which, as his father noted, would always protect him. His love for his family was also extended in his Infinite Tsukuyomi dream as Gaara dreamed of having all his family together, and happy while having Naruto as his childhood friend. Gaara cares deeply for Naruto and his well-being, and despite Sasuke's actions during his assault at the Kage Summit and his status as an international criminal, went so far as to attempt to convince Sasuke to come out of the darkness one more time on behalf of Naruto, and when unconvinced, even shed a tear for the failure Sasuke has become, and the disappointment Naruto will face. Despite respecting Naruto's goals, his care for him does not block his personal beliefs, and he believes his friend's well-being is more important, most prominent is his support to keep Naruto out of the war saying to Tsunade that Naruto takes too many risks when it comes to protecting his friends. Gaara also bluntly tells Naruto that chasing after Sasuke is foolish, as he sees him as no longer being able to return from the path of corruption. Though he defies Naruto's goal to bring Sasuke back, he only says this for Naruto's well-being because they are "friends". His locality to Naruto is shown during the climax of the Fourth Shinobi War, when Yang Kurama was extracted from of Naruto, and Gaara took his still alive unconscious friend to the latter's reincarnated late father, Minato Namikaze, in order to have Yin Kurama be sealed inside of Naruto. The plan was successful, and once Naruto regain consciousness. Gaara told him that when he becomes Hokage that they can share a cup of Sake together, in which Naruto happily agree. Although he remained ruthless against his opponents, Gaara is extremely protective of his allies and innocent people, as seen when he protected his village from Deidara; and his siblings, Darui and even the Raikage against Sasuke. He also deeply understands those who have suffered from loneliness and hatred in the past by the look in their eyes, such as Naruto, Kimimaro, and even Sasuke Uchiha. As a Kage, Gaara believes that the ideals of previous generations, that each village must mind their own business and solve their own problems without having to ask for the aid of others in order to keep appearance and honour, is "ridiculous old-fashioned thinking", and that cooperation between the villages is fundamental in order to defeat Akatsuki. History Series Plot Appearances in Other Media Powers and Abilities Natural Abilities *Ninjutsu Master **Magnet Release Ninjutsu ***Sand Manipulation - As a host of Shukaku, Gaara possesses the ability to freely manipulate sand, through the beast's Magnet Release, to serve various purposes. The focus of his fighting style, Gaara's control and cunning in using this ability is formidable, able to control immense amounts one time for feats such as fully transforming into Shukaku and create a tsunami of sand to fight four reincarnated Kage. During battle, Gaara rarely moves, attacking with his sand from a single location, and rarely uses taijutsu. His most basic attack method is to first capture and immobolise his target, and then implode the sand to crush the target. Taking advantage of the malleable nature of sand, Gaara has come up with various "catch and crush" tactics. As the second element of his combat style, Gaara has various sand-defences should opponents gets too close. His primary defence is his Shield of Sand, forms a barrier to surround and protect Gaara on its own. While automatic, Gaara can control its strength-level to steel-like quality or make it completely encase himself. While an effective defence, the shield can be overcome with high-speed attacks or simple enough sheer force. Should this happen, Gaara has a secondary layer of sand covering him called the Armor of Sand. Although useful, the armour requires large amounts of chakra to remain active, and also has the side-effect of weighing Gaara down. The defences offered by his sand are so powerful, they have been named the "'''Absolute Defense" . It is unknown whether or not Gaara's automatic sand defence was ever truly Shukaku's doing as according to the Fourth Kazekage and Yashamaru, Gaara's mother, Karura, was the true source she loved him and vowed to always protect him. In addition to these basic methods of offence and defence, Gaara also has a number of miscellaneous techniques. By making a sand clone of himself, Gaara can have an ally to be used in battle. Unlike most clone techniques in the series, the sand clone can retain its shape after being hit, able to reform itself or capture an opponent upon being dispersed. With his Desert Suspension, Gaara can use sand as a platform, to allow himself and others to float in the air. He can also ride his sand faster than Ohnoki can fly to a location. Using the Third Eye technique allows him to create a floating eyeball of sand in any location, which he can see through as a means of spying or guide his attacks while his sight is obstructed. His sand can also be used as a sensing device: Gaara can detect when others come into contact with it, even from far away. The sensing of his sand is so great, it was able to repeatedly find the disappearing Mū and the Second Mizukage's Giant Clam. In Part II Gaara's prowess can gather enough sand to shield the entire village of Sunagakure from Deidara's C3, as well as assist in stopping a giant meteorite. If sand is lacking in abundance, Gaara can break down the earth minerals in the ground to create more sand. He is able to manipulate the sand even when it's saturated with water. While he can control normal sand, it requires more chakra to manipulate, tiring him at a rapid rate. As a result, Gaara keeps his own chakra-infused sand with him at all times, in a calabash gourd also made out of sand on his back, which also gives Gaara a greater attack-rate. Furthermore, Gaara can crush the hardest minerals in the ground together to create a shield in shape of Shukaku's body or, in the anime, a spear in the shape of its arm for combat. He was able to integrate gold dust, a feat previously only usable by his father, into his sand. Despite the removal of Shukaku, Gaara can still use his sand like before. According to Sasuke at the Kage Summit, Gaara's Absolute Defence is still alive and well, as well as its previous speed and sheer attack power as it protected Gaara and others from a cave-in, block the attacks of A and Amaterasu (without being burned from the latter). During the Fourth Shinobi World War, Naruto expressed belief that Gaara retained the best defence of anyone, later able to block a barrage of strikes from Madara Uchiha's complete Susanoo's sword. Gaara's sand powers were so strong that his father believed he had fully transformed into Shukaku and was later surprised to see that was not the case. Gaara was able to quickly manoeuvre his sand above his father's Gold Dust, despite its superior weight and stop an enormous meteorite. Gaara's sand is also seemingly the only ninjutsu-based substance that cannot be absorbed. He can even block powerful explosions the instant they explode despite their enormous power, protecting his village and the division respectively. **Wind Style Ninjutsu *Taijutsu Practitioner - Though not very skilled in Taijutsu, Gaara has somewhat fine skill of it. **Skilled Hand-to-Hand Combatant **Enhanced Endurance **Enhanced Durability - Even without his sand for extra defense, Gaara is quite a durable Kazekage. **Enhanced Speed and Reflexes *Master Strategist and Tactician - Gaara is a very skilled tactician and is highly analytical in the battlefield. *Ninpo Practitioner - Gaara is proficient in Ninpo, despite him not having great speeds. *Immense Chakra Power - Gaara holds immense levels of chakra energy, scince he's the Kazekage of Sunagakure and the jinchuriki of Shukaku, the One-Tail. Jinchuriki Powers *Jinchuriki Forms **Shukaku Transformation Equipment *Sand Gourge List of Moves and Techniques *Giant Layered Sand Burial *Giant Sand Burial *Sand Armor *Sand Burial *Sand Claw *Sand Cluster Defense *Sand Cluster Strike *Sand Drizzle *Sand Prison *Sand Prison Spear Attack *Sand Shower *Sand Shuriken *Sand Tsunami *Tailed Beast Bomb *Ultimate Defense *Wind Style: Infinite Sandstorm Devastation *Wind Style: Concussive Air Bullets List of Awakenings *Shukaku Relationships Family *Fourth Kazekage (Father, Deceased) *Temari (Older Sister) *Kankuro (Older Brother) Friends/Allies *Naruto Uzumaki (Best friend and fellow jinchuriki, also rival) *Killer Bee (Close friend and fellow jinchuriki) *Kakashi Hatake *Tsunade *Konohagakure *Ay *Kumogakure *Ohnoki *Iwagakure *Mei Termui *Kirigakure *Mifune *Land of Iron *Toshiro Hitsugaya *Shadow the Hedgehog Rivals *Naruto Uzumaki (friendly rival) *Sasuke Uchiha (formerly) *Rock Lee Enemies *Hakura Otsutsuki *The Vanderich *Madara Uchiha *Obito Uchiha *The Akatsuki *Orochimaru *Kabuto Yakushi *Kimimaro Kaguya *Otogakure Quotes *''As Kazekage, I can't afford to lose.'' *''I'll show you the strength of the Kazekage!'' *''This power... Is for all whom I must protect.'' Trivia * See Also *Gaara/Image Gallery *Gaara/Battles and Events Category:Characters Category:Heroes Category:Males Category:Humans Category:Jinchuriki Category:Sunagakure Ninja Category:Kage Category:Kazekage Category:Allied Shinobi Forces Category:Sand Siblings Category:Team Naruto Category:Heroes Alliance